人类是独一无二的Humans Are Exceptional
Naval：这四个理论中有三个呈现出一种有趣的模式。在认识论中，好的解释告诉我们：猜想及其反驳和纠错，就是我们改进知识的方式。在基因进化中，基因突变、变异和自然选择淘汰了那些不适应的个体。在此之上还有模因进化：我们产生各种想法，然后批评淘汰掉那些行不通的想法。
与此相关，发明之中有试错。在资本主义中，创业公司不断被创立，那些想法糟糕的就会失败。我们发现这种模式一次又一次地重现。
不过，有意思的是，这里还有另一种元模式：人类是卓尔不群的。在认识论中，人类是唯一非贝叶斯式的推理者。在进化中，人类是我们所知的唯一模因生物。在计算理论中，人类是我们所知的唯一通用解释者——当然，除了我们发明的计算机之外。
科学把我们从一个视角带向另一个视角：从"人类处于宇宙的中心"，到"其实，人类没什么特别的。在几乎无穷无尽的开普勒行星之中，你只是其中一颗可能孕育生命的小小行星。"但我们所讨论的这四个理论中有三个正把我们引向这个方向：人类是卓尔不群的。人类有能力获得最大限度的知识。
对我来说，一个有趣的领悟是：即使你是上帝，即使你拥有无限的知识和力量，即使你掌控着整个宇宙，你依然无法知道自己不是身处模拟之中；你依然永远无法证明自己不在模拟里。而且即便是上帝，你脑海中能持有的任何概念，人类也都能持有。
当然，除非物理定律是不同的。如果物理定律不同，那一切都说不准了，谁知道呢？但在当前物理定律的框架内，人类有能力获得最大限度的知识和最大限度的觉知。这指向一个世界：人类是卓尔不群的，而不只是另一种失控并占领了这颗行星的细菌。
这些基础理论中有很多都导向这样一种观点：人类是特别的，知识是无限的，只要我们不去摧毁纠错的手段，并始终在创造新知识，那么我们就有充分的理由保持乐观。
Naval: Three out of these four theories have an interesting pattern to them. With good explanations in epistemology, we’re saying conjectures and their refutations and error correction is how we improve knowledge. With genetic evolution, genetic mutations, variation and natural selection weed out the ones that didn’t work. Then there’s memetic evolution on top of that, where we have ideas and then criticism weeds out the ideas that don’t work.
Related to that, in invention there’s trial and error. In capitalism, startups get created and the ones that have bad ideas fail. We see this pattern recurring over and over.
What’s interesting, though, is there’s another metapattern here, that humans are exceptional. In epistemology, humans are the only non-Bayesian reasoners. In evolution, humans are the only memetic creatures that we know of. In the theory of computation, humans are the only universal explainers that we know of other than, of course, the computers that we’ve invented.
Science took us from this view of humans being at the center of the universe to, “Actually, humans are nothing special. You’re just one little planet out of an almost infinite number of Kepler planets that could be bearing life out there.” But the three of these four theories that we’re talking about are pointing us in this direction of humans are exceptional. Humans are capable of maximal knowledge.
One interesting realization for me was that even if you were God, even if you had infinite knowledge and power, even if you controlled the entire universe, you still wouldn’t know that you’re not in a simulation. You still could never prove that you’re not in the simulation. And even as God, there is no concept that you could hold in your head that a human being couldn’t hold.
Unless, of course, the laws of physics are different. If the laws of physics are different, then all bets are off and who knows? But working within the current laws of physics, humans are capable of maximal knowledge and maximal awareness. That points to a world where humans are exceptional and not just another form of bacteria that got out of control and overran this planet.
A lot of these fundamental theories lead to a viewpoint that humans are special, knowledge is infinite, and as long as we don’t destroy the means of error correction and we’re always creating new knowledge, then there’s good reason to be optimistic.